Chapter 15
"HELEN OF TROY"
A desolate eight weeks and three days after Lucy left, Vida, resigned to never hearing from her friend, discovered after school an opened envelope addressed to her in Lucy's stiff handwriting on the Battenberg lace cover of the golden oak dining-room table. Shaking with rage and fear at this invasion of her privacy she took the letter to her room and read:
September 21, 1921
Dear Vida,
I'll bet you are surprised to get a letter from me in New Haven, Conn. I am in a show called Melodames—Mellow Dames, get it? We are here trying out before opening on Broadway in two weeks. The reason I have time to write is I sprained a tendon clowning with one of the chorus boys and am resting before the show opening tonight. I have a specialty spot. I am Helen of Troy—remember you told me about her—but all I have to do is pose and do some port de bras—arm movements—with a long white piece of chiffon in front of you know where. I was very lucky to get into this Samuel Bros. show. It happened like this. When we arrived in New York we went to the Derby Hotel near Broadway where Ilona Klemper wrote she would be. We found out though she wasn't coming yet for some reason so went for an open-top bus ride up Fifth Avenue which isn't at all what you imagine. The houses are narrow and close together, like on Brick Street. Of course they are more elegant and face Central Park but have no lawns or gardens. The front doors have fancy iron bars. Since Miss Klemper wasn't coming we decided I should begin studying with Fokine but he was closed for the summer so I went to Gellati's. This was lucky because
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